69
February 2016 English Bridge
SECTION B (Questions 4-5)
CHOOSE THEIR LEAD
It is Christmas for the declarer and he is allowed
to choose the opponents' lead!
Which lead do you pick from the West hand to
make sure South's contract makes? You can choose
any card, but note that the other cards will be
nastily placed, although on Q5 neither opponent
has a void.
Each correct lead gains you 5 marks. Choosing
the correct line of play in Q5 will gain you an extra
5 marks.
Q4
You choose the ´K lead and all your troubles
evaporate. You win with your ace and you have 12
tricks: 3 spades, 4 hearts, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs -
the ´Q being your crucial entry to dummy.
Any minor suit lead does not quite do the trick
because it will give East the ´K and you won't get to
dummy. On a heart lead West will have tJxxx and
the ´K and you can only make 11 tricks.
Q5
Trumps break 2-1 because neither player has a void.
You need a heart lead of any sort. You ruff the lead,
cross to ´A, ruff a second heart high, cross to ´K
(drawing the last trump) and then ruff a third heart.
Finally you cross to the ´Q and play your hearts
from the top along with South's two aces
Any other lead leaves you a trick (or entry) short.
The tK can be won and you can ruff a diamond,
cash ™A, throwing a club, but you need to ruff a
heart high to get back to hand to take a final club
ruff and the defence will make their ´10.
Q4 - Contract 6NT
´ Q 2
™ A K Q J
t 8 7 6 5
® 8 7 6
´ A J 3
™ -
t A K Q 10 9
® A K 10 9 5
69
February 2016 English Bridge
Q5 - Contract 7´
´ A K Q
™ A 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
t 8
® 8
´ J 9 8 7 6 5 4
™ -
t A Q 4
® A J 4
N
S
N
S
Continued overleaf/. . .
MASTER SOLVER
VIDEOS
CHECK out three excellent 'Master Solver'
videos ilmed at the World Bridge Teams Championships
in Chennai by David Bakhshi
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=smde83om9dq),
Simon Cope (www.youtube.com/watch?v=
18Af_y6OHz0)
and David Gold (www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-zs2sewne).